Traditionally, consumer care products such as antiperspirants and/or deodorant products are packaged in an oval or round plastic barrel component. The top of the barrel is open to allow the product to be exposed and dispensed for use, while the opposite bottom end of the barrel contains a mechanism (e.g., a product support elevator coupled with a hand-rotatable screw) to assist in the dispensing of the product.
Antiperspirant and deodorant compositions are offered by manufacturers in a variety of sizes and product forms such as liquids, creams, gels, semi-solids, and solid sticks. These products have different ingredients, active levels, solvents, viscosities, shapes, and sizes to address a variety of consumer preferences and needs.
Packaging components must be adapted and designed to avoid manufacturing, shipping, storage, and dispensing problems that are associated with these different product offerings. For example different compositions may exhibit different stability profiles, may apply different internal pressures on the package, may require air-tight seals, may cause different degrees of solvent syneresis or weeping, and may require different package components for ease of and consistent dispensing. In addition a perforated dispenser cap is needed for dispensing composition with lower viscosity such as gels and semi-solids to ensure uniform and consistent dosing of the active. For composition that are solids, it is generally acceptable to use only a factory seal component that protects the top surface of the composition during shipping and manufacture, and is removed by the consumer prior to the first use of the product. A factory seal also serves as a seal when the package is filled from the bottom with molten product. After removal of the factory seal a larger composition surface area is exposed and the composition has the right physical spreading properties for consistent dosing.
Manufacturers generally use different outer caps with each of the factory seal and the perforated dome dispenser cap. This requires one or more additional injection molds and/or parts. Thus the use of different caps adds to the complexity, time and expense of the manufacturing process.
In addition manufactures have historically used a large number of injection molding parts to make different packaging components for the various product offerings. As a result, sometimes as many as 50-75 or more different molds must be developed, used, and maintained in the injection molding process, adding significant complexity and expense.
Thus, a need exists for interchangeable package components for dual walled packages made with fewer injection molds. These packages must also exhibit adequate strength, flexibility, aesthetic appearance, and adequate dispensing quality for a variety of product offerings. There is also a need for providing a dual purpose outer cap that may be used alone or interchangeably with either a factory seal component or a perforated dome dispensing cap.